Wrapping up Eagles' season: Team MVPs, best and worst plays, more

The Chip Kelly era started in the minicamps last April with heart monitors in practice and sleep monitors at home. There was the non-stop pace at practice with loud music, followed by smoothies.

It was apparent right away that things would never be the same for the Eagles, and they weren't. Then the season started, and the Eagles ran up and down the field against the Washington Redskins, whose only recourse to slow the offense seemingly was to fake an injury.

The pace never abated, and when it was over, the Eagles set four franchise offensive records and won the NFC East. An unheralded quarterback in Nick Foles, who lost the starting job in training camp, challenged several NFL records. Running back LeSean McCoy set franchise records in rushing yards (1,607) and yards from scrimmage (2,146). And wide receiver DeSean Jackson had easily his best season.

The defense was a work in progress, but improved greatly as the season went along.

Offensive MVP: Until Michael Vick hurt his hamstring on Oct. 6, the only time we had seen Foles was in mop-up duty during a blowout loss to Denver. Then everything changed. Foles threw seven touchdown passes against Oakland. He came within one touchdown pass of tying Peyton Manning's record of 20 touchdown passes before throwing an interception, which he set this season. He finished third in NFL history with a quarterback rating of 119.2. And he threw 29 touchdown passes with just two interceptions.

Foles wins it over McCoy.

Defensive MVP: There are a lot of candidates to choose from, which, depending on your point of view, can either be a good thing or a bad thing for an improving defense that still ranked 29th in yards allowed per game.

All season long, the coaches praised Cedric Thornton for his play on the defensive line. Fletcher Cox came on strong after a slow start. Mychal Kendricks made some great plays. And in the secondary, Brandon Boykin had two of the biggest interceptions of the season, not bad for someone who barely played 50 percent of the defensive snaps.

But the choice here is outside linebacker Connor Barwin. He did some of everything. He made tackles (82). He got sacks (5). He hit tight ends and receivers as they came over the middle. He even deflected passes, none bigger than the fourth-and-1 block of Kyle Orton's pass to DeMarco Murray in the fourth quarter that would have easily gone for a first down. The Eagles ended up winning the game and the division that night.

Most improved: Early in the season, it seemed that Nate Allen was not only in danger of losing his starting job (he might have if not for the shoulder injury Patrick Chung suffered in September), but his spot on the team.

Allen eventually turned it around. While no one is mistaking Allen for a Pro Bowl player, he had the best season of his four-year career. He'll be a free agent in March, but it's easy to see him returning in some capacity.

Best play of the season: That would be McCoy's 40-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter against Detroit in the snow on Dec. 8. The Eagles trailed 14-6 when McCoy took the handoff from Foles, went up the middle, cut to the left, leaped over a defender, then escaped the grasp of another and kept his footing as he outraced two more defenders to the end zone. The Eagles went on to win 34-20.

Honorable mention: Brandon Boykin's interception of Orton with 1:43 left in the season-finale on Dec. 29. It wasn't necessarily an acrobatic interception as Orton threw it a little behind intended receiver Miles Austin. But it did clinch the NFC East title by preventing the Cowboys from driving for a game-winning field goal.

Worst play of the season: That would have to be Kelly's decision to go for the 2-point conversion in the first quarter when the Eagles had just scored to cut Kansas City's lead to 10-6 on Sept. 19. Kelly often did that at Oregon against overmatched opponents. But that was not the time, nor the place, to do it in the NFL. The Chiefs stuffed it and beat the Eagles 26-16.

Special teams ace: Punter Donnie Jones might not have had the gaudiest stats for a punter.He was middle of the pack in gross average (20th, at 44.9 yards per punt) and net average (9th, at 40.5), although his net average set the Eagles' franchise record. But it was hard to find a punter more clutch than Jones. He hit a 70-yard punt and a 69-yard punt, and finished fourth in punts downed inside the 20 with 33. He also was named the NFC's Special Teams Player of the Year in back-to-back games.

Looking ahead: The Eagles' schedule will get a lot tougher as they'll face the NFC West with playoff teams Seattle and San Francisco, as well as Arizona, which just missed the postseason. They'll also play the division winners Carolina and Green Bay (presumably with Aaron Rodgers). They'll play the AFC South, and their NFC East foes.

It will interesting to see if Foles can have the same type of season he had in 2013; if opposing defenses, with a full offseason to study Kelly's system, will figure out a way to stop his offense; and if the defense can improve even more next season.

We'll start finding that out in eight months when the Eagles play their next game.

Guidelines: You share in the delawareonline.com community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse.

We're using Facebook Comments on articles to create a more civil environment for conversation. To find out more, please visit the FAQ.